Emergency & Disaster Resources

If you or a loved one have been affected—or may be affected—by a hurricane, we can help. Review our comprehensive information and resources on emergency and disaster planning. We can also connect you to emergency shelters and other critical needs now, or other resources after the initial emergency has passed, such as temporary living assistance, medical equipment, medications, emotional support, or other challenges to your quality of life. Please call 1-800-344-4867 to connect with an MS Navigator, or via e-mail at generalmailbox@nmss.org.

It’s important that we leave No Opportunity Wasted in ending MS. Learn more NOW about how you can get involved.

We’ve come so far

When Sylvia Lawry started the MS movement in 1946 with the founding of the National MS Society, research into multiple sclerosis was almost non-existent. The disease took years to diagnose, and there were no therapies proven to slow the course of MS.

Things have changed. Decades of research into MS and the basic workings of the immune and nervous systems have built a critical platform of knowledge now serving as a springboard for progress. The Society’s $974 million research investment has fueled many of these advances, and today’s picture looks different for many:

There are therapies specifically approved for treating and managing MS, and more potential MS therapies in development today than at any other time in history.

MS is more quickly diagnosed, enabling early and sustained therapy to slow disease activity

Scientists are making breakthroughs in identifying risk factors that can increase a person’s susceptibility to MS, which will help lead to ways to prevent the disease.

We have made progress but more must be done for those living with forms of progressive MS for which are no current treatments. The hope – and potential - for new, more effective treatments for MS has never been greater. We are part of a global movement of millions of people working toward a world free of MS.

Critical Milestones

1981 - First MRI pictures of a brain affected by MS are produced, revolutionizing MS diagnosis
1984 - First modern documentation of cognitive problems in MS
1988 - First demonstration, using MRI, of significant lesion activity in MS, even when the disease seems quiet
1993 - First disease-modifying therapy for relapsing MS approved
1996 - First proof that aerobic exercise improves physical and psychological well-being in MS
1999 - Society grantees first to isolate immature cells in the adult brain capable of developing into replacements for myelin-making cells destroyed by MS
2003 - Italian researchers transplant cells to enhance nerve tissue repair in mice with MS
2004 - Pivotal study by Society Fellow shows that African-Americans tend to have a more aggressive course of MS than Caucasians
2005, 2010 - “McDonald Criteria” for diagnosing MS updated by Society Task Force, speeding time to diagnosis for many
2007 - With support from Society to International MS Genetics Consortium, two genes are confirmed to be linked to MS risk; many more uncovered since
2007 - First large-scale trial of sex hormone estriol gets underway in women with MS, a result of the Society’s targeting of gender differences
2010 - First oral disease-modifying therapy approved for relapsing MS
2012 - Launch of Progressive MS Alliance to speed the development of therapies
2013 - Studies hint that exercise and rehabilitation can improve many functions and even help rewire the brain
2014 - First large, phase 2 clinical trials of myelin repair strategy for MS are launched
2015 - A phase 2 clinical trial co-funded by the Society suggests a pill used to treat epilepsy (phenytoin) has the potential to slow the accumulation of disability in people with MS
2015 - Results of phase 2 trial of anti-LINGO suggests it has potential as myelin repair strategy
2015 - Society co-hosts international conference on cell-based therapies to forge next steps for cell therapy in MS
2015 - Society funding helps launch MS Microbiome Consortium to promote research on role of gut bacteria in MS progression and treatment
2015-16 - Two large-scale clinical trials break through long-standing barrier by showing benefit in primary progressive and secondary progressive MS
2016 - Positive results announces from two studies of bone marrow-derived stem cells (HSCT) in people with aggressive, relapsing MS; more research focuses on who might benefit and how to reduce risks
2016 - Society-funded International Consortium of MS Genetics identifies 200 genetic variations linked to MS, offering new leads to how genes and other factors that make people susceptible to developing MS
2016 - Society launches two new studies testing the ability of dietary approaches to treat MS symptoms and improve quality of life
2016-17 - International Progressive MS Alliance awards three large-scale Collaborative Network Awards to promote solutions for people with progressive MS

Recent progress and new leads

Researchers are tracking down exciting leads and making headway in virtually every field related to MS. New technologies such as gene chip technology and new MRI-based imaging techniques are also speeding progress. These advances allow scientists to revisit age-old questions about MS, leading to insights and significant progress toward stopping MS progression, restoring what’s been lost, and ending MS forever. Here are some recent examples:

Scientists are learning new information about how MS damages the nervous system and cells and factors involved in the body’s ability to recover from injury. Early human trials of investigative therapies are underway aimed at repairing myelin.

Studies are providing new evidence that exercise and rehabilitation can improve many functions and even help rewire and possibly build areas of the brain, and researchers are pursuing these leads to find the best ways people can maximize quality of life.

Studies are uncovering lifestyle factors that people can change – such as smoking, childhood obesity, and vitamin D levels – that may reduce the risk of the next generation developing MS.

Researchers have found gene variations that combine to influence whether a person is more susceptible to MS, and are pursuing these clues to help understand what causes MS and how to find better treatments and prevention.